Unexpected, Indeed
by KaylaMarie16
Summary: Instead of Bilbo Baggins being the 14th member of the group, it is a girl named Astrid. And some of the dwarfs try to catch her eye during their travels, which is slightly annoying to a certain Thorin Oakenshield. I really suck at summaries -.- Everything I need to say though wont fit in here, so Ill add an authors note in chapter 1. Rated T because Im paranoid. Might change later.


_Authors Note: *Please Read* This is the first time writing anything for The Hobbit, and its not really based on anything for it. If I had to say, I would say that its based more on the movie for The Hobbit, but even then not really. Most of what might happen in my story, has not happened in the book, the cartoon, or the movie. Basically what Im trying to say, is that this is kind of my own little re-written version. But, I have read the book. And thanks to the movie, now I dread what is going to happen and have sworn not to watch the final part of the movie. With that being said, my story will most likely end where the movie ended and Im not going to make any sequels. So for the probably few of you that are going to read this, dont be upset with where I choose to end my story. And there will most likely be a lot of fans of the books that will be angry with the simple fact that I have re-written the story for my own pleasure, so if you have anything to say about my story, please. Let me know. Okay, well Im done saying what I had to say, so please enjoy reading. Continuing this story is based soley on if people want me to. _

_-I do not own The Hobbit or any of the characters except for Astrid and perhaps a few that I might create later on. _

* * *

There was a light knock on Astrid's door in the morning and she didn't hesitate to answer. Astrid loved visitors, whether she knew them or not. She was a Took, so she held a fondness for anything unknown.

Opening the door with a smile upon her lips, she was greeted with a tall man dressed in all gray with a staff like walking stick.

"Good morning", she said in a bright tone. She had to look up though to see the man's face. For being a hobbit wasn't always useful when around tall folk. The stranger wore a large gray hat upon his head that matched the rest of his outfit.

"What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning or are you saying it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you are saying that you feel good on this particular morning. Or maybe you are suggesting that it is a morning to be good on", the older man replied, observing the hobbit lass before him.

"Well I suppose I mean all of the above", she replied after a moment of thinking about it, turning her face back up to the man, her smile still firmly in place, "May I be of help with something mister?"

"Gandalf. I am Gandalf, and that remains yet to be seen", he answered with a tilt of his hat.

"Gandalf? Gandalf the Gray, the wandering wizard? That Gandalf?" she couldn't contain the excitement that was filling her voice with each word she spoke.

"Yes, I am Gandalf the Gray. Not many hobbits in this area remember me, especially not ones as young as yourself", Gandalf said, as he continued to inspect her.

"Well I am not as young as I appear to be. I am 56 years old, and sadly, I have never had the pleasure to meet you before, but I have read quite a bit about you in the old libraries. I don't really enjoy reading though. Only if it is about adventure or people who have gone on extraordinary adventures, such as yourself", Astrid continued to blabber, not knowing what else to do in the presence of such a remarkable wizard.

"Hm, and what is your name, lass?" Gandalf asked, becoming sure that this was the person he was in search of.

"My name is Astrid Took. And I am full blooded Took, I may add. Which is probably why my mother named me Astrid. It means Star and my mom was always one to go stargazing", she silently cursed herself for rambling again, "Would you like to come in mister Gandalf?"

"Hm, maybe some other time. But for now, I must go inform the others", he nodded to her then thought for a moment before continuing, "How would you feel about having guests over this evening?"

"I would love to have some company. It has been awfully lonely around here lately. Do all of them know how to get here or will they be needing instructions?" she asked, knowing just how hard it could be to find her small little home. That's why she had chosen it in the first place, because it was almost near impossible to find on your own except by luck, and that's what seemed to have brought the wizard to her door.

"The company will probably need more than just directions. Would you mind waiting at the main road and leading them here? There are 13 dwarfs who need to be here tonight", Gandalf said, trying to see her reaction to so many dwarfs in her home. But she only smiled and shook her head yes.

"Well then I must be off, I shall see you and the rest tonight", he nodded once more then turned to leave.

well that was odd, Astrid thought to herself. Shrugging her shoulders, she closed the door and went about her almost normal daily routine. She built a fire on the hearth, moved some of the furniture around in the dining room to make room for the 13 dwarfs that were supposed to fit in her hobbit hole. She was worried for a moment because she couldn't find enough chairs, only 12, but she decided that she had enough time to make a chair before she had to meet with the arriving dwarfs.

Astrid went outside to collect wood needed and grabbed an axe that was lying to the side of the wood pile. She made quick work of getting all of the pieces ready and the right size. She made the pieces slightly bigger than one normally would if they were making a chair for a hobbit. Astrid knew enough about dwarfs to know that even though they were also in fact smaller than most other inhabitants of middle earth, they were still not as small as hobbits. Before long, she had all the pieces put together and all she had left to do was sand it down so who ever sat on it didn't get a splinter. Once that was done, she took the chair inside and placed it at the head of the table, with a few moments to spare before she had to leave. Not bothering with a coat, Astrid quickly left to make her way to the main road, where a dwarf was already waiting.

"Hello, you must be one of the 13. Forgive me for being a little late, I hope you weren't waiting long", Astrid said as she did a small curtsey so the dwarf did not think her rude.

"Dwalin, at your service lassie".

One by one, Astrid made her way back and forth leading a different dwarf each time. After Dwalin, an elderly dwarf named Balin. Then two younger dwarfs named Fili and Kili. Then each dwarf seemed to come so quickly that she hadn't had the chance to remember everyone's name properly. She made a mental note later to ask Gandalf everyone's name.

Once almost everyone was settled into her dining room, Gandalf looked around.

"It appears that we are one dwarf short", he said mainly to himself but the dwarf named Dwalin heard him.

"Aye, he had a meeting with the dwarfs of the iron hill. I'm sure he will be here shortly", he replied but Gandalf did not look any more reassured. If anything, he looked to be in more distress.

"What's wrong Gandalf? Do you not think that the 13th member will not show up?" Astrid asked curiously. He glanced at her then shook his head slightly.

"No, my dear, that is not my concern. It's just that Thorin is uh, a little lost when it comes to directions. So if he is not here by now, then I fear how long it will take him", he whispered to her, not wanting the others to hear him remark on their leaders sense of direction.

"Oh! I shall go see if he is waiting near the main road", she said before leaving the house once again. She sat on a short stone fence right next to the main road and waited for any sign of a dwarf. A figure had passed by at least 3 times, but Astrid wasn't sure if she should say anything or not. From what she saw of his face, he did not look like a dwarf. But then again, neither really did Fili or Kili. When he started to pass by for a fourth time, she spoke up.

"Excuse me sir, are you lost? You have passed this same spot at least four times. Maybe I could help you find where you need to be?" she asked him politely. He stopped and put his hand to the hilt of his sword and spun towards her. He let out a low growl before continuing in which ever direction his feet would take him.

"Hmm, yes. I am certain now that you are the 13th. But the others weren't as rude. Oh well. Follow me then", she said as she jumped from the stone wall, easily passing him and walking towards her home. But he had stopped the moment she passed him. She turned to give him an incredulous look.

"What?" she demanded, as it seemed that he had no intentions of following her, "Fine. Wander around for a while. When you decide that you want to sit and have something to eat and to speak with your other companions, follow this hill straight up and turn left", she said in frustration before turning on her heel and walking away from a very stunned dwarf. Shaking his head, he decided it would be best to just follow the hobbit girl.

"Lass, are ye married?" Kili asked her as soon as she walked into the door, not noticing his uncle standing behind her. She blushed slightly and Kili grinned from ear to ear, taking that as a no.

"You hear that, Fili? The little lass isn't married. How...tragic", he said while making the single word sound as dramatic as he possibly could. Fili just grinned back at him to show his agreement.

"Gandalf. Why have you brought us here?" Thorin asked in his deep authoritive voice.

"Ah, yes. Astrid? I would like for you to meet the leader of our company, Thorin.."

"Oakenshield", she finished, her voice filled with awe as she looked at Thorin. She had read much of him in her time at the library. She practically knew everything about him, at least everything that was in the books.

"You know of him?" Gandalf asked, not expecting her to actually know who he was.

"Of course, well I know as much as I have read about him. So, if you are all here, together, that must mean that the birds have started to return to Erebor. You mean to retake it", she stated, remembering every small detail about the stories she had read.

"She certainly knows a lot about this, doesn't she?" one of the dwarfs whispered to another who only nodded. Thorin only looked at her like she had grown two heads.

"And why, I may ask, have you read so much about dwarven history?" he asked her as he began circling her like a hawk about to catch its dinner.

"Well, the Shire can get pretty dull a lot of the time, so I enjoy reading about adventures and things like that", she said, watching his every movement from the corner of her eye.

"A woman? Are you telling me, Gandalf, that our burglar is to be a woman?" Thorin turned his glare to the old wizard

"Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you Thorin", Gandalf replied, not bothered at all by the sudden iciness Thorin's glare took on.


End file.
